Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 14:37:09 PDT From: "Fernando Rivadavia Lopes" <fe_rivadavia@hotmail.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1575$foo@default> Subject: I'm Back!
Hello to all!
I just returned yesterday from another fantastic CP expedition
through central Brazil! I found over 40 CP taxa!! Does anyone remember what
I wrote just before I left over 2 weeks ago?
>Hopefully I'll stumble into a few more new Drosera taxa, as well as some of
>those rare Utrics I only know from the books, such as U.huntii,
>U.myriocista, U.oliveriana, and U.meyeri.
Well, I didn't find any new Drosera except for a new natural hybrid
(see below), but I did find a new Genlisea sp. But best of all is that,
believe it or not, I found ALL of the above Utrics!! I'd written the names
of these Utrics mostly out of wishful thinking, not expecting to find more
than one or two of these species (maybe none of them), so I'm more than
overjoyed, to say the least! And I even found one further species which I
hadn't even dared to list among the above, thinking there was really no
chance: U.guyanensis!
I'm still trying to get my mails and other things sorted, but I'll
try to write a short summary to the listserv of this most recent trip when
possible. It will be called "The 'Veredas' Expedition", I'll explain the
meaning later... But just to give you all a taste of my trip, here are some
of the highlights:
- I drove over 4000 km through 6 states in 16 days, maybe nearly 5000km
(I'll check...).
- Saw numerous wild toucans and blue & yellow macaws, countless rhea (around
80 in a single day!), some deer, a few giant anteaters (one very closeup --
it was very tame!), and other interesting native animals, but luckily no
snakes!
- I think I solved the confusing taxonomy of the D.hirtella complex: 3 taxa,
one natural hybrid (D.communis X D.hirtella var.lutescens), and one which
appears to be a good taxon but may be of hybrid origin (D.hirtella
var.hirtella X D.h.var.lutescens).
- Took a few steps further in understanding the D.communis complex as well,
being lucky to catch the "flat-red" form in full bloom, for example.
- Saw tons of D.sessilifolia (the largest I've ever seen) at a beautiful
"inselberg", where there was also loads of the magnificent golden-yellow
flowered form of U.amethystina and mats of cream-white flowered U.oliveriana
on wet rocks.
- Found more of the smallest Utric in the world, U.biovularioides, said to
be also the smallest angiosperm in weight. It was previously known from 3
locations, now this has doubled to 6!
- Thought to be rare, U.huntii is also apparently much more common than
suspected. It has a thick layer of clear mucilage on leaves and base of
scapes...
- I FOUND G.GUIANENSIS!!! Known from northern S.America, this giant species
was only known from a few collections south of the Amazon Basin.
- I believe I found a new species of Genlisea resembling a hypothetical
cross between G.repens and G.filiformis.
- U.myriocista turns out to be a larger version of the already beautiful
U.cucullata (which I was lucky to find tons of on this trip). Had to wade
into a boggy lagoon to collect it, but it was well worth it!
- At one location I found U.costata by the millions. This tiny and rare
species has beautifully-colored flowers, but I had only seen it once at a
very small site where it apparently later became extinct.
- And finally, I donated a few liters of blood to countless blood-sucking
creatures of all kinds.
More later and best wishes to all,
Fernando Rivadavia
Sao Paulo, Brazil
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